In re A.S. CA2/6

Filed 12/22/21 In re A.S. CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

In re A.S., A Person Coming 2d Juv. No. B311678 Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Juv. Ct. No. 21JV00073) (Santa Barbara County)

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY CHILD WELFARE SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

M.M. et al.,

Appellants.

M.M. (Mother) and E.C. (Father) appeal the juvenile court’s jurisdiction and disposition orders regarding their baby, A.S. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subds. (f) & (j) [Mother], (b)(1) [Father].)1 We affirm.

All statutory references are to the Welfare and 1

Institutions Code.

This appeal involves orders by the juvenile court concerning A.S., born to Mother and Father in 2021. Approximately five years earlier, Mother, then an adolescent, secretly gave birth to a baby at home and murdered the newborn by cutting his throat. The juvenile court later adjudged Mother a ward of the court based upon a finding that she committed second degree murder. We affirmed on appeal. (In re M.S. (2019) 32 Cal.App.5th 1177.) Here, following the filing of a dependency petition by Santa Barbara County Child Welfare Services (CWS) and contested hearings thereafter, the juvenile court sustained allegations of the petition and ordered removal of A.S. The court also ordered that Mother and Father receive family reunification services to address Mother’s mental health issues and to accept and understand the significance of the circumstances of the prior child’s death. The parents now appeal these orders. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY In 2021, Marian Medical Center staff contacted CWS and reported that Mother gave birth to another baby. Hospital employees knew that Mother had killed her first baby five years earlier. Employees advised CWS that Mother and Father had given the baby the same first name as their deceased child. The CWS social worker met Mother and Father at the hospital. Mother reported that she had been released from juvenile confinement after serving time in juvenile hall and 13 months in a group home. Father stated to the social worker that Mother’s mental health had improved and that he had no concerns for their baby. At the time, Mother and Father were living with the maternal grandparents.